Ok, I bought a used hobie 16 in july. I've been sailing monohulls for about five years, but this is my first cat. I've sailed it three times so far. The 16 has been the most enjoyable boat I've ever sailed except for one thing.
STEPPING THE MAST
When we attempt to raise it, the mast always seems to want to drift to one side. Neither my dad, or I are strong enough to muscle it up and keep it straight at the same time, so we used a wingh the last two times. Still, we can't controll the swaying of the mast from side to side.
I came up with a theory on how to raise it more easily. I wanted to know if it would be bad if the mast were brought up at an angle. If one person could pull all the way on one of the shrouds as the other cranks it up. That way, the opposite shroud is tense, keeping the mast in a straight line. This strategy worked well when lowering the mast, but we haven't tried it on the raise yet.
opinions?
but this most recent discussion covered a lot of ground with a few members who seem to have a lot of experience- go to
Thanks!
